Being Alive
by CakePlay
Summary: Tony Stark has invented his most advanced and sophisticated creation yet; Loki. He is an organic robot that can sense, think and simulate human emotions. Loki was supposed be just that; a robot, but it appears that he evolves beyond machinery, when he does more than just simulate human emotions - as he meets Thor. First published at Norsekink, then AO3
1. Online

"Well you're a handsome one, aren't you?" Tony Stark said just as he had successfully turned on his newest creation. "It's alive! Jarvis, this calls for a celebration!" They were in Tony's workshop, in the basement of his mansion in Malibu. All kinds of tools and machine parts were everywhere. From a table a hologram was showing the blueprints of Tony's new invention.

"Of course sir, should I invite Miss Potts?" responded a British voice coming from seemingly nowhere.

"Go ahead, I want her to meet him. It's time to pop open that champagne, where is it?"

"Behind the coffeemaker, sir. Miss Potts can be here in two hours."

"Perfect. Dum-E, fetch me two champagne glasses" just as the words left his mouth, the robot-arm on wheels turned around and rolled away.

"Is it really wise to give him alcohol?" the British voice said about the human-like robot sitting on the workbench in front of Tony.

"We're going to find out soon enough" as Tony said that Dum-E returned. "Those are regular glasses, dummy, but it'll do."

"Then maybe you should have installed the data to Dum-E to be able to tell the difference, sir."

"Remind me to delete the sarcasm from your program."

"But you love my sarcasm, sir."

"Right" Tony poured the champagne into the glasses. "Here, Loki, your first taste of being alive!"

At first Loki didn't respond, but just looked at the glass of champagne that Tony held in front of him.

"Come on, just take it" Tony took Loki's hand and placed the glass in it. "Now drink it, allow me to demonstrate" at that Tony gulped down half of the content of the glass. "Now it's your turn".

Loki took another look at the glass and then drank half of it, mimicking Tony.

"Ha! That's more like it. I'd love to see the Japanese make a robot just as sophisticated and awesome as him!"

"Maybe we should test to see if he functions properly, sir."

"Right" Tony took the champagne from Loki whose eyes followed the glass curiously. "First off, let's see if you can stand, you should be able to do that" Tony mumbled more to himself rather than the robot. "Loki, stand up please"

At the command, Loki awkwardly jumped down from the workbench and stood unsteadily on his feet. He held up his arms in attempt to keep the balance, though Tony grabbed his arms to ensure he didn't topple over. "Yeah, that'll do for now. Sit down again"

With some effort and Tony's help, Loki managed to sit on the workbench again, forced to assess how tall the bench was with his eyes and coordinate which muscles to use to sit down.

"Yeah, moving around takes some practice, you'll get the hang of it. You haven't said anything yet. Jarvis, the language kit was installed properly, right?"

"I believe so."

"Alright, Loki say 'hi' for me."

Loki looked at Tony for a second, processing the information before replying "Hello."

"You're British?" Tony's mouth and eyes were slightly open in surprise. "Jarvis, why is Loki British?"

"I thought that a British accent would be excellent, sir." If Tony didn't know better, he would believe that the A.I. actually sounded smug.

"Hrmph, of course you did. Though, I think being British would suit him".

"Exactly"

"Don't tempt your fate" Tony mumbled. "Loki, you should be able to sense things similar to me, how do you feel?"

It took Loki another second to process the question and find an answer. "It feels like I'm sitting down."

"So your senses on your ass works, that's always a good thing, anything else?"

Another second went by before Loki answered "I feel something is tightening in my stomach," he said waving his hand over his belly.

"Tightening?"

"He's probably hungry, sir. He has only consumed alcohol so far."

"Oh, right" Tony looked around looking for something to eat, only to find several empty plates with bread-crumps and even more of empty coffee mugs. "Well, this gives us the perfect opportunity to teach you not only how to walk and ascend stairs, but also how to make me a sandwich. That's something not even Dum-E has been able to achieve!" At that Dum-E hung his claw-like arm in shame.

Loki didn't respond, but just looked curiously from Dum-E to Tony.

"Now, stand up again, and try to do it without my help this time."

Loki looked down at his feet and carefully stood up, though a little less unsteady this time. When he appeared to be certain that he wasn't about to lose his balance, he looked at Tony again.

"Good, now try to walk, one step at a time"

Loki looked down at his feet again, as he concentrated on lifting his left foot slightly off the ground, barely keeping the balance on the right foot, moving the left foot forwards and putting it down. He looked up at Tony, as if silently asking for approval to proceed.

"That's great, your first step! Jarvis, are you recording this?"

"Indeed I am, sir."

"Create a folder called 'Loki's firsts' and put the footage in it"

"Done, sir."

"Now Loki, do it again with you other leg"

With slightly more ease, Loki managed to take another step forward, this time without looking down at his feet.

"That's great!" Tony said and smacked Loki's shoulder in approval. "Now follow me"

As Tony turned around, Loki examined his hand, and before Tony went out of reach, Loki smacked Tony's shoulder in return. Tony stumbled forward with an 'oof' by the force Loki used. When Tony had regained composure again he turned around to face the other.

Before Tony could say anything, Jarvis interrupted "Should I put that in the 'Loki's firsts' folder too, sir?"

"Don't push it Jarv." Tony said before focusing on Loki again. "Yeah, until you have learned to control your strength, please don't do that"

Tony looked Loki in the eyes waiting, but the robot didn't respond. When a few seconds of awkwardness had gone by, Tony grew irritable, "Loki, please say something when I talk to you"

A second passed before Loki answered, "My apologies. It won't happen again"

"Good, now follow me please"

Tony walked backwards, making sure that Loki to make sure that the robot followed and didn't fall flat on its face. Loki took one unsteady step after another. After some steps Tony grew confident that Loki wouldn't lose balance immediately and he turned around and headed for the stairs. Loki tried to follow but failed to keep up. By the stairs Tony turned to see how far Loki had gotten only to discover that the robot had stopped in its tracks and looked curiously at the hologram of itself.

"Found something of interest?"

"Is that me?" Loki asked without taking his eyes off the hologram.

"Hey! Loki's first question, Jarvis, place that in 'Loki's firsts' too"

"Of course"

Loki stared at the hologram with wonder. It was the blueprint of himself. He was tall, slender and he had jet black hair which stood in contrast to his pale skin. He had high cheekbones, thin lips and green eyes.

"Pretty great design, isn't it?" Tony stood right beside Loki. "Your name is an abbreviation of 'Learning Organic Cognitive Intelligence', though I changed the C in cognitive to K because it looked better on the papers. Besides, the C in cognitive sounds like a K anyway."

"Organic?"

"Yeah, I used some body parts from some great guys who agreed to donate their skins and organs to support my project before they died. You would be all human except for your skeleton that is made of steel, your non-existing muscles, which is all mechanics; it only looks like you have muscles because of the padding I put in there. Let's not forget your brain which is a super-computer that is based on Jarvis' system."

Loki processed the information for a moment. "Why did you create me?"

"Why not? I needed another assistant who could be here twenty-four-seven and didn't want payment."

"What about Dum-E?"

At that both Loki and Tony turned to look at Dum-E which appeared to listen to them like a mechanic puppy dog.

"Well, uh, Dum-E is, well, Dum-E. And besides, when you have a stomach and everything, I can finally have someone to sit and eat with! If you ask me that can be nothing but positive."

"I see"

"I say that we should go upstairs to teach you have to make me a sandwich, so let's go!"

The sandwich was unrecognizable. The bread was shredded into several tiny pieces, the butter was strewn all across the plate rather than the bread, and the salad had found its way to the floor, but somehow the ham was intact and was the only thing which looked inviting to eat.

Tony was sitting with his back to the kitchen, waiting for Loki to bring the sandwich to him. Loki was standing a few steps away from him with the plate of destroyed sandwich in his hands. It looked like Loki was uncertain whether he should give Tony the plate of destroyed sandwich or not.

After a few moments Loki had made up his mind, as he stepped forward and placed the sandwich in front of Tony on the table.

Tony didn't say anything. He looked at the miserable-looking thing on the plate for a few seconds, before he looked at Loki, who stood awkwardly beside him, until Tony looked back at the plate again. For a while both man and robot looked back and forth at each other and the plate with the not-quite-sandwich.

"Is this really what I had to wait twenty minutes for?" Tony asked after a long silence.

"Yes." Loki responded after a few seconds.

Awkward silence engulfed them once again, as their sandwich-staring-contest continued. Tony cleared his throat before speaking again; "Yeah, Loki. I don't know how to tell you this, since this is the first time you make a sandwich, but…" Tony scratched his neck "It looks like shit. I take back what I said about Dum-E, he should be able to make a sandwich better than this."

"Oh." Loki simply said.

Tony was completely sure that a robot had no emotions whatsoever, but Loki sounded really disappointed. "But hey! It's only your first sandwich; you're going to have a lot of time perfecting your sandwich-making skills!"

"Sandwich-making skills? Really?" Pepper Potts, a red-haired, intelligent-looking woman in business suit walked into the kitchen. In her hand she held a brief-case and the Stark Industry equivalent of an iPad, just much better, in the other. Tony could usually hear her from a mile away because of her high heels, but today she was wearing stilettos with rubber heels. "Is that Loki?" she asked, not taking her eyes off Loki.

"Heey, Pepper!" Tony exclaimed as he stood up from the chair with arms wide, attempting to escape the not-quite-sandwich. "Jarvis, I thought you said she would be here in two hours, it has only been a half"

"It appears that Miss Potts has taken the rest of the day off."

"He looks good!" Pepper walked over to the robot, standing so close that her chest almost touched his. "Jarvis told me that he was finished, so I thought I'd come over." While she talked she inspected Loki, looking at the details in his face and touching his chest, arms and stomach. She walked around him, studying him from every angle, all the while Loki traced her movements. "Wow, if I didn't know anything about him at all I'd think he was a real human."

"Yeah, he's our baby boy" Tony said as he slung an arm around Pepper's shoulder, looking at Loki with self-satisfaction.

"Are you sure about this? A child is a big responsibility, and I'm sure Loki is going to be too"

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that, and of course I'm sure, it's a great idea!"

"Right, of course. What can he do? He should be able to talk, shouldn't he?"

"Of course he can, what did you expect?" Tony looked playfully exasperated.

"Loki, why don't you say hi to Pepper?"

All the while Tony and Pepper had talked and joked, Loki had looked back and forth at the two, apparently not able to follow their conversation. Tony request had snapped Loki out of his stupor and it took him a few seconds to look Pepper properly in the eyes and answer; "Hello Pepper, my name is Loki."

"Oh good, Jarvis installed the British accent!"

"What?" Tony looked suspiciously at Pepper.

"Oh nothing" Pepper looked a little too innocent for her own good, when she waved her hand dismissively at Tony.

"You and Jarvis are little-" Tony mumbled, but he was cut off by Pepper.

"Hello Loki, I'm Pepper, former CEO of Stark Industries and presently Tony's girlfriend" she introduced herself holding out her hand for Loki to shake it.

Loki looked down at her hand with a confused look, not knowing what to do with it. He looked back and forth between Tony and Pepper; Tony for guidance, and Pepper for an explanation. Without saying anything, Pepper took Loki's hand and shook, explaining what to do in silence.

"Wait a minute," Pepper looked at Tony with a surprised expression. "Is he looking confused, is that normal?"

"He's programmed to read and analyze social interaction and act accordingly, Miss Potts." Jarvis answered.

"Human emotions and everything, you've really outdone yourself this time, Tony" Pepper looked at Loki with a wry smile.

"Not human emotions exactly" Tony pointed a finger into the air. "He's programmed to simulate human emotions to make him look as alive as possible"

"Well, that's still quite impressive" Pepper said, looking fondly at Tony. "So, has he eaten anything yet? You said that he was supposed to be fueled by food"

"Oh right" Tony glanced at the crumps of bread and ham on the plate. "Let's order a pizza!"

While they waited for the pizza, Tony shared the footage of Loki's first steps, first question, and first time making a sandwich – or what should be a sandwich on a tablet. Pepper watched the video with interest as she saw Loki going online for the first time and seeing him interact with Tony and looking around his workshop. Loki watched with great interest too, seeing himself for the first time through the video.

"Hey, Loki watching footage of himself! Jarvis, put that in the 'Loki's firsts' folder too!"

"Of course, sir"

"Loki's firsts?"

"Well, you know, I thought since he's our special little boy we should have a scrapbook of all Loki's firsts"

"That's so sweet; I never knew you would be such an excited parent"

"There are many things you don't know about me Pep"

"I have let the pizza delivery boy in through the gates." Jarvis informed at that moment. A little while later the doorbell rang.

"Awesome! Loki, I'm going to teach you an important life lesson; how to receive and pay for a pizza" Tony said as he stood up and looked at Loki with an excited look.

"Shouldn't you also have taught him how to order the pizza first?" Pepper asked smugly as Loki stood up to follow Tony.

"Shh, everything in its own time. Now, Loki, follow me!" Tony walked over to the front door while taking his wallet on the counter on the way. "Just watch what I do and learn" Tony said, not looking behind him to check whether Loki listened or not.

He walked to the door and opened.

"Pizza delivery" a young man said, standing with a pizza by the door.

Loki watched with interest as Tony took the pizza and paid for it. The pizza delivery guy shot Loki an odd look, as Loki just stood there and stared. When the pizza guy left and the door was closed, Tony spoke with unmistakable excitement; "I hope you learned a lot there, 'cause you're going to receive the pizzas for me from now on."

"Of course" he replied after second as the two made their way back to Pepper. Loki creased his eyebrows in concentration as Tony put the pizza on the table in front of Pepper, "Why was that man staring at me?"

"Well" Tony looked Loki in the eyes. "It's kinda odd just standing there staring, not to mention it's rude" Tony said as he sat down, clapping the seat of the other chair in silent command for Loki to sit down too.

"Oh"

After a moment where it appeared that Loki was thinking deeply, letting information sink in, he sat down.

"Jarvis, make sure to record Loki first meal!"

"Wouldn't dream of missing it, sir"

In the meantime, Pepper had put away the plate with the not-quite-sandwich and retrieved some new ones. As Loki sat down she took a slice and put it on his table. "Eat! And tell us what you think of it."

"You're excited" Tony pointed out

"Of course, Loki is like Jarvis, only with a body! So please, eat"

Loki ate his slice not paying attention to the two, who watched him intently. He ate slowly, tasting the food and felt its consistency. It was impossible to tell whether Loki liked it or not from his facial expression, all the while the others watched him carefully.

"So…" Tony said, as Loki chewed his food incredibly slowly. "How do you like it?"

Before Loki answered he swallowed the food and took a moment to think about the answer; "The taste is pleasing"

"Success! He likes pizza!" Tony put his arms in the air. "Now that's something to celebrate!"

"Does that mean I get to drink more champagne?" Loki asked.

"You've given Loki champagne?" Pepper looked at Tony with a raised eyebrow, silently judging him.

"Well, I couldn't have him drink milk as his first drink, could I?" Tony defended himself, childishly crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hm, of course you couldn't. By the way, Tony, there are a lot of people who would like to meet Loki"

"Or steal the technology" Tony mumbled. "No, I'll show him off when I've prepared him properly – with a big party, " he added firmly.

"Steal the technology?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, you're the first of your kind. Big breakthrough in terms of robots, human biology, human transplants and a lot of other things. I'll show my medical secrets to the world when you've been tested thoroughly… That reminds me!" Tony abruptly stood up. "Now that you've eaten, I have to scan you. Down to the workshop! Jarvis, is everything ready?"

"Of course, sir"

"Great, come on"

Both Loki and Pepper followed Tony to the basement. It turned out that scanning Loki was a long and tedious affair, were Loki was lying down on a table and a lot of scanners were slowly working their way from Loki's head to his feet. It took half an hour and Pepper left in the meantime. Even though she wasn't officially the CEO anymore, she still ran the company for Tony.

"Everything looks fine. We have to do this after every meal for a month" Tony informed when they were done.

Before Loki could answer, Jarvis disembodied voice cut through the air; "You have a call from Director Fury."

Tony mumbled something about 'fucking Fury' and 'fucking SHIELD', before he answered "Let him through"

Tony took the cell out of his pocket and placed it to his ear "If you're calling about Loki, then you can forget-" was all Tony got to say before he was cut off

"We need your help."


	2. Thor

Before Tony arrived at SHIELD HQ, he was absolutely certain that none of SHIELD's tech could ever compare to his own. He was wrong. Being on the Helicarrier was completely taking his breath away. The flying fortress was a wonder, and he had personally never thought of creating a flying aircraft carrier, but at the moment he was very sorry that he hadn't. Not only that, the Helicarrier could go invisible, and the design of the control room was something he'd wish the cartoon spaceships of his childhood would look like.

"The ship is very cute" said Tony to Agent Coulson with a completely blank facial expression, definitely not admitting what he really thought of it.

They were in the conference room, which had the view over the control room where various SHIELD agents were either buzzing around or sitting in front of their computer screens tapping away at their keyboards.

"Yes, we're very proud of it." Agent Coulson responded. His hand was clasped over the other, standing as if some sergeant had ordered him to stand at ease. He was very unusual though. It wasn't that he was unusual-looking or that he behaved outside the norm, but it was his warm, expressive eyes, the way he always smiled that pleasant smile, and somehow his very presence had an air of both calm and authority. He looked gentle and strong at the same time.

His contradicting appearance wasn't what made him look the most unusual though, it was the fact that he was sticking out like a sore thumb in the environment. SHIELD was a cold, harsh place with the metal halls and interior, the sterile smell, and the agents who all wore serious expressions on their faces and looked like they would kill without a second thought.

Agent Coulson was the only one who looked pleasant; like an ordinary family man who would sit at a desk in an office. Which made his presence at the SHIELD HQ slightly unnerving, but Tony would never admit that to anyone.

"So," Tony said, intertwining his fingers as he walked towards Agent Coulson with his usual nonchalance, "What do you actually know about the Space-Viking?"

"Only that his name is Thor, he was found in New Mexico, he's not from this world." Coulson answered without batting an eye, though he shifted uncomfortable before adding; "and he has a dangerous temper mixed together with a strength that far surpasses that of a human."

Before either of them could say anything else Director Fury entered the room with a tall, broad blond man following him. "Agent Coulson, Tony Stark" he said first nodding acknowledging at Coulson before he stared at Tony with that single piercing eye while his other was hidden underneath an eye patch, "I'd like both of you to meet Captain America"

The Captain immediately walked over to Agent Coulson and held out his hand; "Steve Rogers" he introduced, and did the same with Tony afterwards. He had a serious almost grave facial expression. The first thing that Tony noticed about him was the way he held himself; without being told Tony would instantly know that this man was a soldier.

"Cap" Tony nodded as he took his hand in a brief, firm grasp.

After the introductions nobody said anything, but rather stood there in awkward silence. Tony looked around before asking; "What, no Hulk? I thought the whole Initiative was going to be here."

"Initiative?" Rogers asked with a confused but still serious expression.

"The Avengers Initiative" Fury answered, giving Tony a stern look. "And how did you know that Bruce Banner is a part of the Initiative?"

"I have my ways" Tony answered with his trademark, winning smile.

At those words Steve Rogers narrowed his eyes, clearly forming an opinion of Tony, and not a good one at that.

Director Fury made an irritated noise before he answered Tony's question; "Bruce Banner won't be coming; it's too risky to bring him here."

"Shame, I've heard such good things about the Doctor."

Ever since the introduction Agent Coulson hadn't taken his eyes off Captain America, looking at him with awe, which Tony only noticed now. That was interesting.

"The quinjet with the subject will be arriving in twenty minutes." a woman said while entering the room. She had brown hair and wore the same skintight, deep blue uniform as the rest of the SHIELD agents. As she talked she was looking down at a transparent tablet, not looking at any of the men in the room, but somehow she still found her way to Director Fury's right side.

"Thank you, Agent Hill" Fury acknowledged. "Stark, Rogers, suit up, you two are the welcoming committee."

"Yes sir" Rogers immediately responded before he made his way out the door.

Tony mock saluted Fury on his way out, but he was stopped by Fury's hand on his shoulder. "Don't do anything reckless" he said, looking at Tony, daring him to do something stupid. Anything at all.

"Come on Fury, it's me!" Tony walked backwards towards the doors with arms wide to each side. "Coulson" he nodded goodbye, just before he exited the room.

Director Fury got to give Tony a last warning glare, before he disappeared out of sight.

Both Tony and Rogers were suited up. Tony was in his Iron Man suit with his arms crossed over his chest. Captain America stood like a soldier at ease with his hands behind his back, looking straight ahead with a stern expression.

"Tell me, how does it feel like being frozen for seventy years and then waking up in the 21st century?" Tony asked, attempting to making small-talk.

Rogers didn't say anything, resolutely ignoring Stark. Though his expression had gone sterner and his body tensed. Tony could actually see a vein pulsating in the other's forehead; it almost looked like it would pop any moment.

"So, not so great huh?"

Rogers bared his teeth, and as he opened his mouth to retort something back, a quinjet flew in the hangar bay.

The quinjet turned its rear end towards Iron Man and Captain America. From all sides there were SHIELD agents ready with their weapons, while the Captain was only equipped with his shield. The quinjet lowered the hatch and out walked a tall, blond man with a bright red cape with. In his belt there was an enormous hammer.

"So this is the guy" Tony mumbled, whether it was to himself or Captain America was anyone's guess.

Behind the blond man two agents walked out. One Tony knew; agent Romanoff, an ex-employed woman of Stark Industries. That traitor. The other was a man with sunglasses that Tony didn't recognize.

"Jarvis scan the Viking" Tony said in a low voice.

"Yes, sir" the A.I. responded. After a moment of numbers on the screen inside the Iron Man helmet, Jarvis reported; "It seems that he is not human, origins unknown."

"Amazing. How's Loki doing?"

"He is currently investigating the TV-remote, sir."

"Also amazing"

In the meantime the blond guy had made his way to Iron Man and Captain America. He was even taller than Rogers; he was bearded and had clear blue eyes and a stoic expression. He was holding a hand over his hammer, but not quite grabbing it. It looked like it comforted him just knowing the hammer was there.

"I am Thor, crown prince of Asgard" he announced to them with a voice of great self-importance. "Are you the leaders of these people?" He looked between Iron Man and Captain America.

"No, but we're here to welcome you to planet Earth!" Tony announced, mimicking Thor's booming voice, before Rogers had a chance to say anything at all. He had his arms spread out in a welcoming manner. "We come with peace! Or, I hope you do." He mumbled that last part.

"Greetings man in armor, and I thank you for your kind words. What may I call you?" Thor said with a smile, obviously not picking up that Tony was mocking him.

"I am Iron Man, protector of this world!" he answered excitedly. "And this is Captain America" he said with less enthusiasm, waving a hand in Rogers' direction.

The Captain pulled a face at Tony, not appreciating the introduction, but nonetheless he kept quiet and nodded at Thor, who nodded back.

"It is my pleasure to meet a warrior of Midgard, Man of Iron!" Thor clasped his hands over Iron Man's shoulders in appreciation.

"Likewise!" Tony didn't bother correcting Thor. He removed the face-clap so Thor was able to see his face. "My name is Tony Stark" he said as he held out his hand which Thor shook eagerly.

"We should really get him inside and interrogate-"

"Heey!" Tony interrupted the Captain in mid-sentence. "Instead of standing around here, why don't we go to my place, you must be exhausted after traveling from another plane of existence to our world!"

"I am quite hungry" Thor admitted.

"It's settled then!"

"What's settled?" Director Fury was walking towards them from behind, glaring at Tony. "Captain, what is going on here?"

Rogers was dumbstruck. His mouth was open as he shook his head and held out his hand in a gesture that said 'I don't know'.

Fury directed his gaze towards Tony once again, expecting an answer.

"Oh, I just invited Thor here to my place, and he accepted!"

"What!?" Fury immediately grabbed Tony and dragged him a few steps away from the others. "I thought I told you not to be reckless" he hissed. "I won't allow this!" It looked like Fury's one eye was about to pop out of his face.

"But if we turn down the invitation now, after he has already accepted, he will be pissed." Tony teased with a self-satisfied smirk. "And I think Agent Coulson said something about him having a dangerous temper."

"Fuck you Stark!"

"It's decided then!" Tony said clapping his steel cladded hands together with a clang. "Though someone should give you a ride my prince, since my place is at the ground."

"Don't worry, Man or Iron, I'm well capable of flying!"

Tony looked at the other with an odd expression on his face, but he recovered quickly; "Cool. Off we go, follow me!" He once again mock saluted Fury and waved Captain America goodbye before he took off.

To his surprise, Thor took his hammer, swung it a few times and flung his arm with the hammer up in the air which made him fly.

"Wow."

After Tony left, Jarvis was left in charge of Loki. For some time Loki sat completely still. Occasionally he would look around the workshop from where he was sitting.

The room was filled with technological wonders with different machines, illuminating the otherwise dark room. The wonders, which were most prominent were the Iron Man Suits. They were all lined up along one of the walls; each one in their own pod, except one was missing. That was the one Tony used to fly away in so abruptly after the phone call.

Loki decided that he had sat still long enough and walked over to the suits. Tony had given him no explicit order to sit still anyway, only to stay in the mansion. His walk was still unsteady and slightly uncoordinated, but he managed to get to armors without a hitch. When he was close enough he tried to reach one of the suits with his hand-

"Please don't touch that." The British disembodied voice said, cutting through the silence.

On instinct Loki froze; his hand only an inch from one of the suits. He looked up to the ceiling, even though he knew that he wasn't able to actually see Jarvis.

"Why not?" He asked still looking up.

"Mr. Stark doesn't want anyone to touch his armors."

"But I'm not _anyone_; technically I fit into the category of _anything_."

"You still shouldn't touch the suits."

Loki stood unmoving, his hand still an inch from the suit. He looked from the ceiling, to the suit, and back to the ceiling again. He didn't know why, but he took his index finger and poked the suit, then looked challengingly at the ceiling with a mischievous smile.

Jarvis didn't say anything. Loki poked the suit again. Still no response. Loki poked the suit a third time, then a fourth, and then a fifth, and then-

"Stop that, please." The emotion was hardly there, but Loki thought he heard annoyance in Jarvis' voice.

Loki let his arm fall to the side, and looked around the room for something else to investigate. He eventually settled for Dum-E which had watched Loki ever since he first went online.

"Hello" he said as he walked over to the arm on wheels.

Dum-E clipped its fingers at Loki in greeting.

Loki and Dum-E stood there in front of each other, not saying anything. They stayed there for a while until Loki decided to walk to the stairs, clapping Dum-E's arm on the way.

"May I go upstairs?" Loki asked looking at the ceiling.

"You may."

Without Tony to help him, it took Loki a while to get up the stairs, but he ultimately succeeded. The first time he was up here, Tony had been considerable enough to block the light from the windows with electronic curtains. When up there Loki had to shield his eyes while they adjusted.

When got used to the light he took a real look at the mansion. When Tony took him up here the first time he didn't have enough time to explore. There were windows from the ceiling to the floor, which made the living room that much brighter compared to the workshop. Everything from the modern design of the interior to the marble floor looked clean and sleek.

Loki spent his time exploring the mansion, checking out the gym, Tony's bedroom, which Jarvis kindly asked Loki to exit immediately, the living room – lastly he ended up in the kitchen. He took to his belly and petted it by clapping it gently.

"How do I know that I'm hungry?" he looked up at the ceiling.

"Either your stomach would slightly hurt, or you would feel a tightening as you described earlier."

"I guess I'm not hungry then."

Jarvis didn't reply. Having already discovered much of the mansion, Loki didn't know what to do. For a time he stood completely still, staring at nothing in particular. It wasn't difficult to stand still – to do nothing at all, but oddly enough Loki felt compelled to do 'something'.

"What can I do while Mr. Stark is away?"

"You could watch television."

That was how Loki found himself zapping through what seemed like an endless supply of channels on the huge flat screen TV. He had some difficulty trying to figure out how the TV remote worked, but with Jarvis' guidance he eventually figured it out.

He was so engrossed with the different broadcasts and reality shows that he failed to notice when Tony arrived – with a guest.


End file.
